WhatsApp and Snapchat May be banned in the UK

Ephraim Batambuze III January 13, 2015

Less than a minute

News coming in indicate that Prime Minister David Cameron could push for a ban on WhatsApp and Snapchat if he wins this year’s general election.

This is as a result of new surveillance plans proposed in the wake of the terror attacks in France.

“In our country, do we want to allow a means of communication between people which…we cannot read?” Cameron said while speaking in Paris

Cameron wants to stop the use of communications methods that cannot be read by the security services even with a warrant. That would include communications and social media apps like WhatsApp and Snapchat which encrypt their data.

It should be notted that WhatsApp added end-to-end encryption to its service in late-2014.

However, its unlikely that the proposals will become law if the Conservatives find themselves in a coalition with the Liberal Democrats again after this year’s General Election. If the legislation is pursued as proposed, the move will face serious challenges from civil liberties groups.

Source: TNW